Midnight Caller - By Diane Burke Page 0,9
Tess.”
Tony clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. Ever since he got the call about a corpse discarded in the tall grass by the Tomoka River, he had been dreading this moment. He nodded to Winters and Spence, who had just pulled up. Telltale yellow tape roped off the crime scene. The forensics team was already at work, taking pictures of the body and carefully gathering evidence.
“Hey, Keith.” Tony acknowledged the motorcycle cop who had been first on the scene. “What do we have?” Spence and Winters drew up behind him.
“I was heading north on Airport Road when these two kids ran out of the woods, screaming to high heaven and white as sheets. This park has a reputation as a good fishing spot. Seems they got more than they expected. They went into the brush close to the river and, literally, fell over the corpse.” Keith nodded toward the boys. “I got them calmed down. They’re waiting over there for their parents to pick them up.”
Two boys, about eleven or twelve, stole glances in their direction. The shuffling of their feet and the slight green tinge to their skin attested to the fact they wanted to be as far away from the park as possible.
Winters said, “We’ve got this,” and he and Spence headed toward the boys.
Tony ducked under the yellow tape and gingerly approached the medical examiner.
“Hi, Sally.” It never ceased to surprise him how a sweet, grandmotherly looking woman would choose to spend her days surrounded by corpses. Go figure.
“Tony.”
“What can you tell me?” He squatted beside her.
“Not much yet. Looks like she was killed elsewhere and dumped here. I’ll have more specifics for you after I get the body back to the morgue. She fought back. Should get some good DNA samples from under her nails.”
Tony glanced at the corpse and knew two things instantly. The body’s injuries matched the visible injuries of the other two corpses. And Cynthia Mayors, the woman who had disappeared from the hospital after her Friday shift, was no longer missing.
Several hours later Tony trudged into the office, tired, hungry and with only one thing on his mind: finishing his report and going home.
“Hey, Tony,” the desk clerk yelled. “A woman called a couple of hours ago. Left her name and number. Said something about meeting you at the Easter picnic and wanted to talk to you about a problem she’s having.”
As the clerk’s voice rang through the room, Tony grimaced. He glanced at his fellow officers. Here we go. Round three for pranks and jokes. But right now he didn’t care. He had hoped she’d call. He didn’t like to think she would let her kid down. He took the message from the clerk and headed back to his desk. At least he’d be able to make one little boy’s life a little happier. He wished he could have been in time to save Cynthia Mayors’s children from the world of hurt he just delivered to them.
“I’ll get it!” Tess’s voice drifted down the hallway after the doorbell rang.
Erin retested the water temperature for Jack’s bath, then stepped aside. Jack held on to the safety rail and lowered himself onto the nonskid mat. Erin placed clean pajamas and a towel on the toilet seat cover and made sure the walker was placed safely within reach. “I’ll have hot chocolate waiting for you when you’re done.”
Jack, already covered head to toe with soap bubbles, grinned at his mother. “With whipped cream and marshmallows, please. And can I have one of those chocolate chip cookies you hide over the ’frigerator?”
Erin chuckled. “We’ll see. Make sure you clean behind your ears.”
She walked down the hall and entered the kitchen. “Who was at the—” A rush of pleasure raced through her body at the sight of the man standing beside her aunt. Dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt and patterned tie, he was even more handsome than when she’d seen him at the park. And those eyes—should be a crime walking around looking so good.
“Hi. Remember me? I didn’t bring my rabbit with me. Hope you don’t mind,” he said.
Her aunt chuckled and busied herself wiping the counter.
“Of course, I remember you, Detective Marino. Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Call me Tony.” He slipped off his jacket and loosened his tie. “Hope you don’t mind. It’s been a long day.”
“Not at all. I know how you feel. The ER can be stressful at times, too.”
“You work at the hospital?” Tony raised